Zafar Produce owner lives his dreams

Thursday

Feb 7, 2013 at 2:00 AM

NEW WINDSOR — There was a time, Syed Zafar says, when he didn't know a head of lettuce from cabbage. He laughs about those days as he reminisces in a spartan conference room tucked behind his company's warehouse.

James Walsh

NEW WINDSOR — There was a time, Syed Zafar says, when he didn't know a head of lettuce from cabbage.

He laughs about those days as he reminisces in a spartan conference room tucked behind his company's warehouse.

Zafar Produce, headquartered off Route 32, has about 50 employees. The operation has a purchasing office in Salinas, Calif., a city known as the Salad Bowl of the World, and a trucking subsidiary delivering fruits and vegetables to sellers in 20 states.

There was a time, though, when Zafar, a native of Pakistan, was a teenager in a strange land. He struggled to learn English, to find his place in what he believed to be a land of opportunity.

"I had a dream as a child living in poverty to come here and make something of my life," Zafar said. "We don't want to lose the immigrant that helps build this country. This isn't even remotely possible anywhere else. You can work hard all of your life in other places and go absolutely nowhere."

Zafar, 45, said he came to the Jackson Heights section of Queens when he was 15. He sold newspapers and candy from a kiosk at the World Trade Center until losing his place in an apartment shared with other Pakistani immigrants. It was an arrangement in which day and night workers rotated in the living space. He came home one evening to find that his place had been given to another man. Zafar was out on the street.

His knowledge of English was minimal, and he had no place to live. He reluctantly decided to return to Pakistan.

"I was at the bus station to get to the airport, but I got on the wrong bus and I ended up in Poughkeepsie," Zafar recalled. "I got off and I saw a gas station. I went there and said I was looking for work. He paid me $200 for seven days a week."

Not long afterward, Zafar was working at another gas station operated by the same company in New Windsor.

"Life was very good," he said with a smile. "I was making $250 a week, I found my first apartment on Renwick Street, and it was close enough to ride my bike to work."

A co-worker at the New Windsor station, Frank Foster, helped Zafar improve his English. He was also working at a Newburgh bakery, where he met his future wife, Lisa, niece of the owner. At one point, Zafar was delivering bread and a daily newspaper, and driving a dump truck.

Q: What was your biggest challenge?

A: Learning to speak English. When I worked at the gas station all I knew was hello, how are you, and goodbye.

Q: How did you get into the produce business?

A: I asked Sam Amendola, he had a pizza shop in Monroe, what I could do for him to earn some money. He said he needed fruit and vegetables. My wife had gotten $200 from her grandmother to buy a dresser for our daughter, Saira. From that I borrowed $163 and went to Hunt's Point. I got lettuce, onions, green peppers, escarole, tomatoes, Italian parsley, very basic things. I bought an inventory that I could store in the basement of my house.

Q: How did you build the business?

A: I had delis, pizzerias, a few restaurants. I had a strategy. I started by using the customer database from the bakery. I gave the people a price list and promised them the best service and quality. I'd sell $10 and save $4. I'd get another truck. I'd expand enough for another route and then hire a driver. As the route became profitable, I'd start another route.

Q: Who are your customers today?

A: Everything from the largest chains to the smallest delis to four-star restaurants. And we're currently exporting to Europe, specifically Scandinavia.

Q: Why have the Salinas branch of the business?

A: It's a buying office. We buy all of our product ourselves. We see all of the product. We see how it's grown. We see how it looks. We see who has the best.

Q: Do you also buy local produce?

A: When products are in season, yes. And apples all year long.

Q: Have any tips for would-be entrepreneurs?

A: You have to be honest with yourself. You have to know your capabilities. And you have to be true to yourself. You have to put honesty, hard work and respect into everything you do.

And you need a great team. I have people who've been with me since the beginning. I don't like to call them employees. They're teammates. Everyone plays a critical role. Two of my brothers are here now. Asif's a buyer and Musarat's a manager.